Donald Trump lashed out at Richard Blumenthal on Twitter early Thursday morning after the Democratic senator told media outlets that in a private conversation with Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee had described the president’s attack on a federal judge who had temporarily suspended his immigration executive order as “disheartening” and “demoralizing.” Trump wrote that Blumenthal “misrepresented” Gorsuch’s comments and attempted to undermine the Connecticut senator’s credibility by highlighting the fact that Blumenthal had previously exaggerated his Vietnam War service record.

Trump’s online fusillade is unsurprising, given that if Gorsuch said what Blumenthal alleged, his remarks would constitute a significant rebuke of the president. There’s only one problem: by all accounts, including that of Gorsuch’s own spokesman, the Supreme Court nominee said exactly that.

On Wednesday, Blumenthal told CNN that Gorsuch “said very specifically” that Trump’s comments about U.S. District Court judge James Robart, who the president called a “so-called judge,” were “demoralizing and disheartening and he characterized them very specifically that way.” Later, in a separate interview with The Washington Post, the senator reiterated his earlier comments. “I told him how abhorrent Donald Trump’s invective and insults are toward the judiciary. And he said to me that he found them ‘disheartening’ and ‘demoralizing’—his words,” Blumenthal said in the interview with the Post, adding that the judge “stated very emotionally and strongly his belief in his fellow judges’ integrity and the principle of judicial independence.”

Ron Bonjean, who is leading communications for Gorsuch during his confirmation process, also confirmed to CNN the judge’s characterization of Trump’s comments about Judge Robart during his conversation with Blumenthal.

Republicans, who are seeking to present Gorsuch as a more moderate candidate, backed Blumenthal. During an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday, Republican senator Ben Sassesaid that, in conversation, Gorsuch had also expressed to him disappointment over Trump’s attacks on the judiciary. Gorsuch, Sasse told host Joe Scarborough, got “pretty passionate” about the issue and said he views any attack on his “brothers and sisters of the robe” as an attack on all judges. “He understands why we have three branches and, frankly, that seems to me that that’s a good reason why his nomination shouldn’t be politicized,” the Nebraska senator said, adding that it showed Gorsuch would “be a warrior of our system of constitutional restraint and executive limits.”

Former senator Kelly Ayotte—who was tapped by the Trump administration to shepherd Judge Gorsuch through the Senate confirmation process—also came to Blumenthal’s defense. According to Fox News, in a statement released on Thursday, Ayotte said Gorsuch “made it very clear in all of his discussions with senators, including Senator Blumenthal, that he could not comment on any specific cases and that judicial ethics prevent him from commenting on political matters” but that he also “emphasized the importance of an independent judiciary” and “said that he finds any criticism of a judge's integrity and independence disheartening and demoralizing.”

It’s not clear whether the White House recognizes that Gorsuch calling out the president actually improves his chances of a smooth confirmation. Trump was apparently displeased that his nominee for the Supreme Court was quoted condemning his earlier remarks, but rather than taking it out on Gorsuch, he fired off a pair of tweets attacking Blumenthal on Thursday. “Sen.Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie),now [sic] misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?” the president wrote. One hour later, Trump took another swing at Blumenthal and at the CNN host who had interviewed him. “Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave "service" in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!” he tweeted.

Cuomo was quick to point out that he did, in fact, bring up Blumenthal’s mischaracterization of his Vietnam service record. “Sadly, potus is just wrong about the facts. it was my first point to the senator - about his having misrepresented military career. sigh,” the CNN host tweeted.